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eBook Font Solutions

Book designers and publishers understand the important role that typefaces serve in both providing optimal readability and setting the proper tone for the author's message. For an eBook, the font becomes even more important; to either match the print version or to create a stylistic and highly legible on-screen reading experience.

Font embedding capabilities will become standard features within eBook authoring environments and will enable the highest degree of typographic control by including the actual font data in the document. This will insure that readers see exactly what the designer intended.

To address the needs of publishers who want to embed fonts into eBooks, Monotype Imaging is introducing a simple and low-cost font licensing model for eBooks.

The Monotype Imaging eBook Font License provides the necessary licensing rights to embed fonts into eBook products for commercial distribution. The license is designed to be easy to manage and cost-effective, with three options available: per unit, paid-up for each title, and an annual license fee. The per-unit option takes into consideration the early market nature of eBooks where publishers may not achieve significant revenues until this market ramps up.

About the Monotype Imaging Font Library

With over 100 years of history, the Monotype Imaging font library is the paramount resource for designers and publishers. There are over 2800 fonts available in separate collections:

Monotype Library - a vital collection of over 1000 typefaces that are widely recognized as some of the most important typefaces ever developed. Monotype Classic fonts are renowned by book publishers for their integrity in print, and provide the highest quality for on-screen display for electronic publications. Learn more about Font Libraries.

ITC Typeface Library - over 1100 exceptional typefaces with designs ranging from classic to contemporary, including distinctive display faces and inventive illustration fonts. The ITC library is one of the world's most popular typeface collections, and remains a must-have resource for designers. Learn more about Font Libraries here.Learn more about Font Libraries.

Monotype has created custom typefaces for many leading publishing companies such as Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, New Yorker Magazine, Scholastic and WorldBook; advertising and branding agencies such as Landor Associates, Newell Sorrell and Temerlain McClain; and developers of software and hardware products like Apple, Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and many others. With the industry's largest type development and engineering staff, Monotype Imaging can provide the most extensive array of custom font services including specialty character sets, multilingual solutions, high quality hinting, and specialized software and hardware implementations.

Frequently Asked Questions about eBook Font Licenses

Why do I need Monotype Imaging fonts for eBooks?
For over 100 years, book designers and publishers have sought out the fine craftsmanship and design versatility of the Monotype Imaging font libraries for print books. In an eBook typography plays a critical role in ensuring legibility and readability, thus font selection becomes increasingly important. The Monotype Imaging font library contains over 2700 high quality fonts to choose from, giving book designers and publishers a wide creative range to establish the appropriate "personality " to the eBook.

Which eBook formats support font embedding?
Currently only the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader and Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader support font embedding, as this is a feature of the PDF file format. Other environments are expected to support font embedding in the future.

What if I want a custom font for my eBooks?
Monotype is a leading custom font development company with the industry's largest staff of type designers and font software engineers. If you have any custom font needs for print, eBooks, web or other applications, contact the Monotype Imaging sales staff for a free consultation.

I purchased a font library for our design department, can't I use those fonts in eBooks?
Just as publishers need to obtain permission from their authors and artists to distribute their works electronically, publishers need a separate license to embed fonts into commercial eBooks. Monotype Imaging, like most other type companies, licenses fonts for in-house use on a set number of workstations (typically five). The End User License Agreement that is included with every font software package does not allow the redistribution of the font data, such as when fonts are embedded into eBooks.

Why is an eBook different than a printed book?
The difference is that eBooks are software products which, in the event that you embed fonts, include the proprietary font software within your eBook software product. To include Monotype font software in a commercial software product you require a font license that grants such distribution rights.